Tech

The 10 Best Things About iOS 6

The 10 Best Things About iOS 6

1. 3G FaceTime

FaceTime has long been a great way to video chat with friends and family, but both parties needed to be on a Wi-Fi network in order for it to work. Now, FaceTime works over cellular and you can even take calls on your iPad using your phone number.

2. Passbook

Passbook may not be a digital wallet, but it's certainly warming the public up to what could be the next big wave in mobile payments. It allows you to store anything from movie tickets to gift cards and boarding passes for flights.

What's even better is an option that senses when you are in the area of the movie theater or airport and reveals your ticket on the lock screen, so you don't even need to open up the app. Starbucks, Walgreens, Fandango and various airlines have already signed on to support Passbook functionality.

3. VIP Email

Inundated by junk email and miss the important ones? Set up a VIP list, so you’ll never miss emails from your boss, best friend or loved one.

4. Maps App

Although the new Maps app doesn't include routing and transit directions -- which is perhaps the biggest overall gripe among iOS 6 users so far -- it still touts some impressive features. For example, by accessing the satellite view in Maps for cities such as New York, San Francisco and London, users are treated to 3D imagery. Attention to detail is so spot on that it almost looks like you're flying through streets as though you were in a video game.

5. Facebook Integration

Apple has opened up social integration to Facebook, allowing users to share pictures and post status updates without having to log into the app. You can also merge your Facebook contacts and calendar with your iOS calendar, so you no longer have an excuse if you forget a friend's birthday.

6. Smarter Siri

Siri has been the maven of answering questions via voice-command for about a year now, but she just got a whole lot smarter. From providing movie and restaurant recommendations and revealing professional sports scores to even sending tweets and Facebook updates, action-commands are much easier with Siri on iOS 6. Although it's still not perfect -- she was way off with the weather recently -- it's a big improvement over Siri's existing presence on iOS 5.

7. A Social Photo Stream

Apple has introduced photo-sharing capabilities in its Photo Stream that allows users send a picture from their stream to a person or group of people for comments. Similar to Facebook or Instagram, people invited to the group can Like images and write comments.

8. Panorama

Want to capture that big redwood tree or the entire Golden Gate bridge? Now you can with the new panorama feature for the iPhone and iPod touch. It allows you to shoot up to 240 degrees, even vertically.

9. Message Reply

When you decline an incoming call, you can instantly reply with a text message, set a callback reminder or even create a pre-set message to let the caller know you are driving.

10. Do Not Disturb

Do Not Disturb allows you to set up a time for incoming calls to be silenced. But you can also create a list of people that can get through to you at any time, such as a family member calling in the middle of the night.

It's been less than 24 hours since Apple rolled out its sixth major update to its mobile operating system for the iPhone, iPad and iPod Touch, but it didn't take long for early adopters to find frustrations with the new software.

Sure, Google Maps is noticeably missing — which is the first time Apple has removed a piece of software since launching the iPhone in 2007 — and there are still some obvious kinks and omissions from the company's new built-in Maps app. Transit directions, anyone? But we'd be remiss to overlook some of the beautiful and groundbreaking new features added to iOS 6.

In fact, dare we say, some additions are so good we don't even know how we got by without them before. From Passbook which stores everything from your movie tickets to boarding passes and a much smarter Siri, check out the gallery above for our favorite things about iOS 6.

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